Future Changes For Trash Collection Discussed By Chatham Council

CHATHAM, NJ — Members of the Chatham Borough Council recently voted to replace the current "Green Bag" garbage collection system with an automated system in which a mechanical "one-armed bandit" would empty bins into the garbage truck.

The contract change was first discussed in the meeting's executive session, which lasted about 30 minutes after the meeting began.

According to the council, the "Green Bag" system will be in place until the end of 2023, and the new system will begin in January 2024. Under the current system, residents must use special "green bags" for solid waste.

The borough uses a "pay as you throw" system for green bags, which means that while everyone pays the same for collection, the amount they pay for disposal is determined by how much they throw out.

"So if you're a senior citizen or if you're somebody who is really an avid recycler, you are going to be paying less than somebody with a large family who's got a ton of garbage and does not want to bother to sort their waste very well," Council member Jocelyn Mathiasen said.

Chatham is one of five municipalities in the entire state that still uses the "pay as you go" green garbage bag system, according to Council member Len Resto, who was the lone dissenting vote on the change.

Residents who were both for and against the move stated that the amount of recycling residents will do may decrease with the transition to the automated system because residents may simply fill up the automated bin.

According to Mathiasen, Chatham Borough currently has a very strong recycling rate and program. The current recycling program managed by the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority will remain unchanged.

According to the board, the need for the switch is primarily due to financial issues. The cost of green bags under the old system included a trash tipping fee, which has risen in recent years.

"Our costs in the borough have gone up 70 percent just for that collection fee portion of our contract with the disposal company. That's just between 2021 and 2023 and they also recently increased the price of the green bags by 10 percent," Mathiasen said.

The new system would provide borough-owned garbage bins that are 35, 65, or 95 gallons in size, with residents paying based on the size of the receptacle they select. The pricing for the bins would still need to be decided by the borough.

The addition of cans is also expected to help reduce the appearance of rodents and prevent future problems with bears getting into trash bags.

Under the new system, trash collection would occur once a week instead of the twice-weekly pickup that is now in place, and any type of bag could be used in the cans.

The borough council voted 5-1 on Monday night to award a five-year contract for waste collection and disposal services to Suburban Disposal, Inc. The current contract with Suburban expires at the end of March 2023.

According to the board, no implementation will begin until 2024 in order to give all residents time to fully transition.